Eco Group has more than doubled its footprint in south-west Scotland by investing in a 60,000-square-feet manufacturing site in Dumfries where it will manufacture VASO by Eco’s innovative recycled glass panels for the housing and general construction markets.

The manufacturing facility will help alleviate the housing crisis in Scotland as well as in the rest of the UK and abroad, by adopting industrialised construction methods.

VASO by Eco is a world-leading circular housebuilding innovation which creates building solutions from panels manufactured from recycled glass, providing affordable, thermally efficient, low carbon dwellings which are rapid to construct.

The VASO by Eco manufacturing plant, which also has 1.8 acres of yard space at the Dumfries site, will immediately create 12 new jobs rising to a total of 70 new jobs within the next five years.

Eco founder and Managing Director Eddie Black said: “Manufacturing VASO by Eco panels in Dumfries and Galloway will allow Scotland to be at the forefront of a building solution which will help solve the housing crisis in Scotland, the rest of the UK and in other places around the world.”

It only takes a matter of hours to manufacture a VASO by Eco house offsite. It only takes a few days to build it onsite using minimal labour and mechanical equipment, all while achieving high standards of quality, performance, sustainability and durability.

The innovation also tackles the construction skills shortage issue as it needs much less labour to build a VASO by Eco home, enabling governments to hit their housing targets.

Aligning with national strategies like Housing to 2040, VASO by Eco recognises the need for collaborative action to address housing pressures.

Eco’s investment comes at a time when commentators have repeatedly said a different approach to housebuilding is required to meet the UK’s shortfall of homes. 

A range of reports have highlighted the shortage of homes in Scotland and the need for different thinking and solutions such as modular construction, circular manufacturing, and innovative offsite housing models. 

Prosper’s “Housing Supply For A Growing Economy” report highlighted the need to accelerate the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and invest in offsite manufacturing and innovation. It includes VASO by Eco as one of its case studies. 

A “Key Worker Homes in the South of Scotland” report published by South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership found that 2,330 staff – almost 10 per cent of the workforce – are affected by housing shortages. Almost 80 per cent of employers report that housing significantly impacts recruitment and retention. 

Eddie said: “There is now a golden opportunity to embrace industrialised construction which takes the stress away from traditional supply chains and creates a housing solution through circular and advanced manufacturing.

“We are delighted to be launching the manufacturing site at this time so that VASO By Eco’s speed and efficiency can provide a systematic solution to the housing crisis.”

Garry Legg, Head of Strategy, Planning and Partnerships, at South of Scotland Enterprise, said earlier this year: “There is a unanimous consensus that we must do things differently to address the housing challenge, with partners in the South of Scotland already coming together to take the action they know is required. The South of Scotland is up for, and ideally placed to be, Scotland’s testbed for doing housing differently.”

VASO by Eco’s recycled glass panels offer superior thermal performance, fire resistance, and durability. They are also backed by a 60-year Lloyds of London warranty.

One of Eco’s two units at the Dumfries site will be utilised as a VASO by Eco production line, the other as storage. The base also has office space and a training room facility.

Eco is now on site and preparing to start production, launching with a Research and Development product line.

The plant will manufacture panels for Eco to demonstrate its first VASO by Eco showhome.

It will also manufacture VASO by Eco product for a construction project in Scotland already in the planning process, and be used to build commercial Battery Energy Storage Solution (BESS) container units and heat pump base panels.

VASO by Eco is already proposed for a new affordable housing project, at Closeburn north of Dumfries.

As a partnership between Nith Valley Leaf Trust (NVLT), South of Scotland Community Housing, and VASO by Eco, South of Scotland Enterprise recently commissioned a feasibility report for development of the brownfield site at Closeburn.

The VASO by Eco build solution would represent a 20-week timesaving compared with traditional construction.

Eco plans to launch a second line at the factory in October 2026, and a third by October 2027, by which time it will have created 70 new jobs.

As well as developing opportunities in the UK, Eco is also working on projects across Europe and taking part in an Invest in Barbados next month to discuss housing opportunities in the Caribbean, Cuba and Venezuela. 

Eddie said: “We have spent the first 15 years of the company’s existence growing and adapting and diversifying so we can continue to be pioneers in our field.

“Building our own 3,000 square-metre HQ in Annan in 2020-21 was an incredible milestone for the company and a testament to the skills and capability of our team.

“Now we have something else to celebrate with a facility which is going to prove a complete game-changer for the Scottish, UK, and worldwide construction industry.”

VASO by Eco has been shortlisted for a Circular Economy Award by BE-ST, Scotland's national innovation centre for construction and the built environment.

BE-ST’s awards celebrate the businesses, organisations and individuals making the biggest contribution to decarbonisation in the built environment and championing a just transition to zero carbon.

BE-ST works with organisations across the built environment sector, including industry at all levels, universities and colleges, and the public and third sector, to come up with new ways to transform the built environment to become stronger, more sustainable, and smarter.



BE-ST’s Accelerate to Zero Awards 2025 take place at Òran Mór in Glasgow on November 6